Kham Duc is a small town that I stopped in between Pleiku and Hoi An. I had a great time in this town even though there's not much to it.
The map is approximate. I couldn't find the exact location of the town in this map.
I got up early in Pleiku and was glad to leave. The hotel that I stayed in wasn't very good and I was kind of bored with the Central Highlands. Lucky for me I would be entering the mountains and jungles on this day.
I haven't been including videos in these posts, but if anyone is interested in seeing how my day started, you can watch it here.
This is the very start of my day as I left the hotel and left Pleiku.
Outside of the city, the big flat plateau of the Central Highlands opened up. In the distance I could see the mountains that I would be driving through.
In one town I saw some cool murals. I'm pretty sure the building was a military base, but maybe it was a museum.
Things seemed to get a little greener and more lively as I got closer to the mountains.
The day was mostly clear and very hot.
There was a big traffic circle in this town, but hardly any traffic at all. It kind of seemed like overkill, but maybe they have a lot of traffic during rush hour.
It was a pretty nice day for riding and I was grateful that there wasn't a lot of construction goin on.
Some of the little houses and barns looked cool to me.
One of the things that I've seen in Vietnam but never seen anywhere else is kids riding bikes and holding hands.
I asked about it and I was told that they hold hands so they can help each other. I guess one pulls when the other needs a rest?
It's weird how my camera shoots a ton of photos that look super hazy or like the lens was dirty. Then other photos are really bold and colorful. I'm not sure what the cause of that was.
It was super hot and I had to turn around for this little bit of shade to take a break. There were long stretches of road where there was no shade at all. I pulled over here for some water and stretching.
It was nice to ride next to the river. On bike, scooter, or on foot, I always prefer to travel next to water.
I passed through a lot of little villages.
Most of the villages just have a handful of storefronts on the main road and some houses on side roads.
Stuff like this happens all the time in Vietnam. This person decided to make a U-turn right before a blind curve on the highway. You always have to be alert on the roads.
I started to climb into the mountains. The vegetation was fairly sparse on this side of the mountains.
In most areas, people tend to live close to each other. This area had a lot of homes and farms that were a lot more isolated.
Further up the mountain I could see the where the jungle hadn't been tamed yet.
There were lots and lots of little villages and farms.
I found a nice little spot to take a break.
At this point in the trip, rice paddies were still pretty new to me. I would end up seeing a ton of them. There's something so cool about how they all look together.
I finally made it to the other side of the mountain and was greeted by a huge jungle!
It's not a good photo, but the jungle was so vibrant, dense, and lively. It was such a nice change of scenery from the big flat plane of the Central Highlands.
Riding down the mountain, through the jungle was a real treat for me. It just seemed so mysterious to me.
I passed through another tiny little village on the outskirts of Kham Duc.
I finally made it to Kham Duc. I got a hotel room and dropped off my bags.
My bike had been good to me so I treated it to some fresh juice and got the oil changed.
In town I found a nice little place to sit down and have some beers. I spent a few hours here reading my book and enjoying the vibe of this nice little town.
It's fun for me to watch how people live their lives in other countries. People would come to the restaurant and pick up food to take home. Others visited the other stores and restaurants. Something new for me was a loud speaker that would occasionally give an announcement. It reminded me of the announcements in school. I wondered what was being said.
The owner of the restaurant made me some dinner. She was an absolute sweetheart and was super kind and jocular. Other people would stop by and say hi to the foreigner. The old ladies would crack a lot of jokes and pretend to flirt with me. It was hilarious.
This was a new vegetable for me. I'd never seen one before. It's a bitter melon. I asked for her to cut a piece off for me and she made a surprised look and gave me a piece. It's indeed bitter and you're not supposed to eat it raw.
After dinner I headed back to my hotel room. It had been a fun evening hanging out at the restaurant.
There's no real reason why I liked this town so much more than Pleiku. I just had a better time here. My hotel room was much better too. There really isn't a whole lot to this town, but Kham Duc is a good memory for me. I also loved getting out of the Central Highlands and into some jungle. There's nothing wrong with the Central Highlands, it just got a little monotonous after a while. Plus there was a lot of construction.
Next up is going to be the backpacker favorite, Hoi An. I hope you'll join me tomorrow on my journey to the next city!